{"id":3881,"date":"2009-08-07T10:50:09","date_gmt":"2009-08-07T10:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=3881"},"modified":"2016-09-22T21:21:49","modified_gmt":"2016-09-22T21:21:49","slug":"predictive-factors-for-illicit-drug-use-among-young-people-a-literature-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2009\/08\/predictive-factors-for-illicit-drug-use-among-young-people-a-literature-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Predictive factors for illicit drug use among young people"},"content":{"rendered":"

A literature review
\nResults<\/strong>
\nThe most extensive and consistent evidence relates to young people\u2019s interaction with their
\nfamilies. The key predictors of drug use are parental discipline, family cohesion and parental
\nmonitoring. Some aspects of family structure such as large family size and low parental age
\nare linked to adolescent drug use. There is also consistent evidence linking peer drug use
\nand drug availability to adolescent drug use. There is extensive evidence on parental
\nsubstance use, although some studies report no association while others indicate that the
\nassociation is attenuated by strong family cohesion. Age is strongly associated with
\nprevalence of drug use among young people reflecting a range of factors including drug
\navailability, peer relationships and reduced parental monitoring. There is limited evidence
\nsuggesting that genetic factors account for a significant proportion of the variance in liability to
\nuse cannabis, however this interpretation has been criticised by other writers. There is a
\nsimilar level of evidence linking self-esteem and hedonism to drug use. The available
\nevidence indicates that higher levels of drug use are strongly associated with young people\u2019s
\nreasons for using drugs after controlling for risk factors.
\nCategories where evidence linking specific factors is mixed include: mental health, Attention
\nDeficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), stimulant therapy, religious involvement, sport, health
\neducator interventions, school performance, early onset of substance use and socioeconomic
\nstatus. For some of these categories there is evidence of indirect effects; for
\nexample, socio-economic status may influence parental monitoring which in turn influences
\ndrug use. The review did not consider any studies relating to previously identified risk and
\nprotective factors such as ethnicity or impulsivity.
\nFor young drug users in treatment, psychosocial risk predicts drug abuse at treatment entry
\nbut not follow up. In contrast, protective factors are of increased importance during recovery
\nThe overall ratio of risk to protection may be more important than any individual factor. These
\nresults, although supported by a relatively small body of research, support the concept of
\nresilience to drug use. According to this view resilience to drug use is enhanced by increasing
\nsocial skills, social attachments and material resources despite constant exposure to known
\nrisk factors.
\nWhereas risk and resilience are, to a large extent, independent of individuals\u2019 motives, there
\nis evidence that the latter are just as important as the former in determining drug use. Young
\ndrug users consistently report getting intoxicated and relief from negative mood states as
\nreasons for their drug use. Qualitative research shows that the context in which young people
\nexperience drugs is crucial for understanding how risk and protective factors operate in
\nrelation to experimental and sustained drug use.
\nRisk factors have differential predictive values throughout adolescence. Some factors may
\noccur at birth (or before) while others occur at varying times throughout adolescence. Some
\nfactors may persist for long periods of time while others are transitory. The distinction
\nbetween early and late onset risk factors is important as preventive measures need to focus
\non particular age groups.
\nConclusion
\n<\/strong>This review was pragmatic because it was time constrained and not all the studies identified
\ncould be reviewed in detail. From the studies reviewed, the evidence relating to factors
\nassociated with increased (or decreased) risk of drug use is described. Further analysis would
\nrequire a detailed assessment of individual studies, with clear specification of exposures (risk
\nand protective factors), outcomes (type and level of drug use) and study design (i.e. did
\nexposure precede the outcome).
\nMuch of the current knowledge about risk and protective factors is not yet available in a form
\nthat would permit the calculation of the effect of reducing exposure to risk (or enhancing
\nprotective factors), even if was possible to modify the exposure. The evidence indicates that
\nrisk and protective factors are context dependent and operate on people taking drugs for
\ndisparate reasons. With these caveats, improving the general social environment of children
\nand supporting parents will probably be the most effective strategies for primary prevention of
\ndrug use. Studies indicating that risk and resilience can be successfully altered include
\ninterventions for parental monitoring and enhancement of social attachments and skills.
\nThese interventions show promise but have rarely been implemented or evaluated in the UK.<\/p>\n

Source:\u00a0\u00a0 Home Office OnLine report 05\/07 Martin Frisher et al<\/em>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A literature review Results The most extensive and consistent evidence relates to young people\u2019s interaction with their families. The key predictors of drug use are parental discipline, family cohesion and parental monitoring. Some aspects of family structure such as large family size and low parental age are linked to adolescent drug use. There is also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,40,61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parents","category-prevention-research","category-youth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3881\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}